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.308 Reloads not cycling

2K views 24 replies 6 participants last post by  soundguy 
#1 ·
I own an Rock River Arms LAR8, .308. I an attempt to save money, I started reloading my brass to save money. I also purchased some spent brass and reloaded most of it. 1st time at range, I had several rounds that didn't fire and I had to pry the bolt open. This happen once before and I was told that it wasn't sized properly. So I went and bought a sizing block from EGW to check my rounds. I use a Lee press and check the brass several times. Once after I punch out the primer and once after I have loaded the round. All rounds slide in and out of the block and I was feeling pretty good that everything would go smoothly.
I recently have replaced the bolt because I noticed some pitting on the end of the bolt. I just loaded 3 magazines and want to see if everything would feed and eject without any problems. To my surprise, 10 out of 20 had to be pried from the chamber. What am I doing wrong?
 
#2 ·
I have moved this thread over to the reloading forum since it has nothing to do with the value of anything! I put it here in the Ammo/Reloading forum since it is about ammo.

Welcome to the Firearms Forum, Brad. It sounds like an extractor problem to me, BUT you said you changed the bolt so that may not be the case. How hot are you loading your ammo?
 
#4 ·
Hi Brad. Welcome to the forum. You've found a great place to ask questions. There are tons of reloading experience here, and we are always glad to help. We like a good discussion and a good laugh, so pull up a keyboard and chair and enjoy.

Things that occur just now: What powder are you using? What bullet? Are you full-length sizing your brass?
 
#5 ·
A few points here. Let me begin by stating my personal opinion that useing a Lee or any other dipper to 'measure' or dispence powder is a poor choice. I believe that a good basic reloading set-up requires at least a good scale, and a dispensing device or a powder measurer. An RCBS or similar powder dispenser is a must.

Then on to your loads. Semi auto rifles are operated by the spent gas. Some are really finicky about the type of powder. Two I can think of off the top of my head are the M1 Garand and the M1 Carbine. Loads that would work very well with just about any powder in a bolt action just won't work in one of these gas operated guns.

A final thought for you. You say you are working up your first loads for your .308. To do that, it would be a good idea to start by only making up 10 or 20 rounds, then testing them for function. After you find a load that will cycle your gas system reliably, you can then work up or down to determine the best charge wieghts for the best accuracy.

I am also curious about the type and wieght of the bullets you use, and also the type and charge of powder you are going with.
 
#6 · (Edited)
O.K. A lot to say. The powder I'm using is IMR4320 and the bullet is a Sierra Pro-Hunter 150 grain Spitzer. I'm using Lee dies and yes I'm using a Full length sizer. When the round fires, the rifle cycles properly. But my problem is the round is chambered, the bolt and carrier are forward but not far enough to for the fire pin to fire the round. When I try to pull the carries back, I have to pry it back. It removes the round. I have replaced the bolt hoping that would solve my problem. My rounds are all the same length and because I use a full length sizer, can't figure out what I'm doing wrong.
 
#7 ·
Just a suggestion...try some factory ammo to see if it does the same thing. That might indicate if it's the gun or the reloads.
 
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#13 ·
I'll think about this. Maybe someone else will have some ideas. If LD comes on he will surely have some good answers for you.
 
#12 ·
According to the Hodgdon reloading data site http://www.hodgdonreloading.com/data/rifle the load range is 43.7-47.6 grains of IMR 4320. To translate that to cc I'd need to find the density of the powder. Then divide the weight by the density to get the volume range. But, as said, Brad, get yourself a good set of scales. The Lee dippers can never match the precision of a set of scales that measures to 0.1 grain. In addition, you can load a range of powder charges starting from minimum to maximum and see which gives the tightest group. Or look at the ladder test sticky at the top of this part of the forum.
 
#14 ·
The once fired brass I'm loading is a variety of manufactures. NATO, Armsco, Winchester, Remington anything that was spent and collected at the range. The only thing I haven't checked is the length of the brass before I load it. Thanks for any and all your help!
 
#24 ·
It could be several small factors combined together causing the problems. From my experience semi-autos function the most reliably when the cases are sized in a small base die. This reduces the web diameter by an additional .0005" to .oo15" to allow for trouble free chambering. This is because semi-autos don't have the camming/chambering strength that manually operated arms (bolt actions) have. Case length could be the problem, but not likely. As a rule semi-autos have long throats/leades to allow a variety of ammo to function reliably. Next comes the crimp, an overly aggressive crimp will wrinkle case necks and not allow the ammo to fully chamber. I would try the small base die (checked with the Wilson gauge), trim cases to 2.015", seat the primers deep enough to prevent slam fires, seat the bullets to fit the magazines, and also try the Lee factory crimp die (not too aggressive) and the problems should disappear
 
#17 ·
Not seeing exactly what you are doing, but from your statement that 'all of the rounds are the same length because you are "useing a full length sizer die" - I'm guessing that your brass may exceed the maximum length. Have you trimmed your cases to length and measured them?

Sounds like your bolt is not going fully into battery. By your statement that you have to pry the bolt to get the cases out of the chamber, my guess would be that the brass case is too long and it is hanging up in the end of the chamber. If your cases exceed maximum length, two things are happening: One is that the bolt will not fully go into battery - and because of that your firing pin will not detonate the primer. The other thing is that if the cases are too long, you will have excessive pressure if or when the rifle is fired.

You are not the first person to assume that useing a 'full length sizer' that the cases are somehow within full length tolerance. Lee makes a very inexpensive case trimmer. You would need that, and a chamfering tool, and those are also inexpensive.
 
#20 ·
#19 ·
I think jim brady has hit it! The brss is probably too long and needs trimming. Run over to your local Harbor Freight store in Jacksonville and pick yourself up one of those cheap calipers. Even a cheap one is better than none. Measure your bass AFTER you full length size it. The brass should be no longer than 2.015 inches. If your brass is longer than that, they need to be trimmed.

Another thing that comes to my mind is that when you seated and crimped the bullet, it might have mushroomed the shoulder just enough to cause chambering problems.
 
#21 ·
Thanks gentlemen, just got done measuring my rounds and found the brass to be slightly longer than 2.015. The rounds that I measured less than that cycled fine so you have hit the problem right on the head. You have been a big help! Thanks. Looking forward to going to the range again. Should prove to be a lot less frustrating.
Thanks Black Eagle - Amazon here I come.
 
#22 ·
if getting a case trimmer and you are going to load for multi calivets I'll toss in my vote for the rcbs trim pro, I have a manual and auto, work great, get that hf 10)12$ caliperentioned, I have a couple on the bench, plus a couple NICE high end calipers and a MIC set for engine rebuild work, so far the 10$ hf turns the same results as one 10x its cost, not made in china.
 
#23 ·
Brad--let us know how it goes.
 
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